MA Music Education

Course details

Introduction

The MA in Music Education will equip you with the necessary expertise and understanding for a successful career in contemporary music education. This in-person course will develop your skills in teaching, music leadership, and research. We accept students who play any instrument and come from any musical tradition, empowering them to lead the talent of tomorrow.

Key Features

Our Music Education master’s provides a unique blend of practical experience, taught content and research to prepare you for professional life or doctoral study. Through a combination of specialist seminars and supervisions, you will gain a rich understanding of musical pedagogies, their theoretical foundations, and their application to different contexts.

You will undertake an education placement, where you will learn in a professional environment while receiving one-to-one supervision to improve your employability and musicianship. During the course, you will also learn research methodologies and undertake a project in a subject area of your choice, receiving personal supervision from a suitable staff member. Collaboration in the CoLab festival will immerse you in student-led and project-based learning, with support from mentors and creative professionals. A further suite of specialist elective options includes Technology in Music Education, Contemporary Theorists in Music Education, The Social Impact of Music Making, and more. All students have the opportunity to take an Instrumental/Vocal Learning & Ensemble elective, offering 1:1 tuition on their instrument from one of Trinity Laban’s performance staff.

The course is delivered by expert practitioners, teachers, and researchers. Visiting lecturers will explore a variety of approaches current within the music education profession. You shall have the opportunity to engage with the conservatoire’s Public Engagement programme, which offers a range of innovative projects with children, young people and adults in formal education and the community. As a developing educator and music leader, you will lead collaborative music-making in various settings with participants of different abilities and in relation to a range of audiences. The course will also provide you with a comprehensive insight into the role of the musician in the contemporary education infrastructure and a rich appreciation of both UK and international practices of music teaching.

At Trinity Laban, you will join a diverse community of global arts creators to make your mark on the future of music education.

Apply on UCAS Conservatoires

Key Facts

UCAS: 557P (full time) 558P (part time)
Location: King Charles Court
Duration: 1 year full time / 2 years part time
Start Date: September

Fees

Audition fees

Please note that there is an audition fee for this course of £95 (for 2025 entry). You will also need to pay the UCAS Conservatoires administration fee of £28.50 for the 2025 entry cycle.

2025-26

Audition fee: All programmes except BA (Hons) Musical Theatre Performance and BA Music Performance and Industry: £95 (for 2025 entry)
Info 25/26: Fees represent 2025/26 year only, programmes with more than one year are subject to fee increases after the first year
MA Music Education (Full-time): Home £10,950 International £23,200
MA Music Education (Part-time): Home £6,160 International £13,040

2024-25

Info 24/25: Fees represent 2024/25 year only, programmes with more than one year are subject to fee increases after the first year
MA Music Education (Full-time): Home £10,630 International £22,250

Find out more about discounts/waivers

31 Jan 2025
Application deadline
8 – 12 Sep
Welcome Week
15 Sept – 12 Dec
Autumn Term
20 Oct – 31 Oct
Activities Week
5 Jan – 27 March
Spring Term
9 – 20 Feb
Activities Week
20 April – 3 July
Summer Term
25 – 29 May
Activities Week

This is a one-year full-time level 7 course with an option for a two-year part-time schedule.

Some modules are shared with the MMus, MA Music Education and Performance, and MEd Music Education (Online), allowing you to collaborate and network with performers and practising music educators.

If you’d like to blend your studies of music education with performance, you can apply for the MA Music Education and Performance. Alternatively, if you want to study music education remotely, you can apply for the MEd Music Education (Online).

Module breakdown

Taught modules

Music’s Pedagogies
Contexts of Musical Learning
Education Placement
Rediscover & Repurpose
Research Lab
CoLab
Electives (see below)

Project / Dissertation Module

Research Project

Electives

You can choose one elective from list A, which will be graded. You can then choose another elective from either list A or B, which will be pass/fail.

LIST A

Theorising Classroom Music
Contemporary Theorists in Music Education
Technology in Music Education
Learning Mentor
The Social Impact of Music Making
Expanding Horizons: Exploring UK Music Education in a Global Context

LIST B

Current MMus Elective List (all pass / fail)
1-1 Instrumental / Vocal Learning & Ensemble (p / f)

Performance opportunities

Trinity Laban has a rich and diverse performance programme, and you are welcome to audition for the various orchestras, choirs, and ensembles. You can also choose the 1-1 Instrumental / Vocal Learning & Ensemble elective.

Learning, teaching, and assessment

All modules have a substantial portfolio of asynchronous learning materials, including curated and recommended reading. Modules also have a variety of forms of student-teacher and student-student interactions, including class discussions, online forums, interactive discussion boards, and through formative assessment portfolios. All written submissions can receive draft feedback from staff. The Education Placement and Learning Mentor modules will involve observation in new work contexts and the chance to get to know one or more professional music education environments in the UK.

Assessment methods mirror professional requirements as much as possible. The course offers a wide range of assessment tasks, from a video of teaching to case studies and essays. There is a blend of written and practical assessment methods (including composition, teaching resources, reflective journals, action research etc.) and a variety of modes of submission, including multi-media submissions (e.g. narrated PowerPoint, Sway file or podcast). Most assessments are dependent on professional practice as an educator, adaptable to your specific professional role and are centred on connecting reflective practice with theoretical knowledge. You will be supported in gaining the appropriate teaching experience.

Modules such as the ‘Research Lab’ and ‘Research Project’ will feature a blend of written and practical assessment methods arrived at through negotiation between the student and tutor depending on the material under consideration. The course assessment strategy involves a trajectory of increasingly personalised options of increasing weight, with peer-to-peer support through forums and occasional team-working and staff support through supervisions.

For more information, please see the programme specification or contact our Admissions team (admissions@trinitylaban.ac.uk).

A degree, or equivalent training and / or professional experience is normally required. Applicants are usually expected to hold a good pass in a BA, BMus (Hons) or equivalent qualification.
We welcome applicants who do not hold an undergraduate degree, but can demonstrate equivalent previous study and / or experience.
Applicants without a degree will be required to apply for Recognition of Prior Learning to demonstrate suitability for postgraduate study.
Considerable professional experience in music education and / or participatory settings, which should current or recent.
Fluent musical skills on a principal instrument / voice (normally grade 8 or equivalent).
(for International Students) IELTS 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all 4 areas / Trinity College London – Integrated Skills in English III (ISEIII).

You will have to successfully complete a DBS check on commencing the programme.

Admission to the course is assessed through application and interview.

Application process

Applications are made online through UCAS Conservatoires. You are required to include two references (one practical and one academic) and a personal statement. The personal statement should address your background and relevant experience, reasons for applying to Trinity Laban, the relevance of the course to your current practice and future professional aspirations, and why you are interested in it.

A successful applicant to the programme will need to demonstrate the following through personal statement and interview:

the capacity for independent, critical and reflective judgement
intellectual curiosity and the potential for innovative pedagogical and musical development
a critical understanding of the diversity of learners and the complexities of the education process
the ability to organise and articulate opinions and arguments in writing using relevant specialist vocabulary
high levels of technical fluency and convincing interpretative skills on their instrument.

The RPL process, if required, will be conducted by a follow-up interview.

For more information on the application process, please see our step-by-step application guide.

Tim Palmer

Head of Music Education

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Tim Palmer

Tim Palmer studied at the Liszt Academy, Budapest, the National Centre for Orchestral Studies, Cambridge University and the Guidhall School of Music and Drama. He is a Senior Teaching Fellow and Head of Music Education at Trinity Laban, where he leads teaching and research into the role of the musician in education settings, and into creative teaching in music in Higher Education. His work crosses traditional boundaries between classroom teaching, instrumental/vocal teaching and workshop leading.

Biography

Qualifications/ Educational Background

MA (Cantab); PGCert TLHE

Creative Outputs

Palmer, Tim. 2013. “Assessing Leadership Skills in the Conservatoire.” In Developing the Musician, edited by Mary Stakelum, 265–90. Farnham: Ashgate.

Palmer, Tim. 2016. “Deconstructing and Re-Imagining Repertoire in Music Teacher Training.” In Creative Teaching for Creative Learning in Higher Music Education, edited by Pamela Burnard and Elizabeth Haddon, 132–49. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Limited.

Palmer, Tim, Gary Spruce, and Julie Evans. 2011. “Collaborative Music Teaching and Learning with Partners Beyond the School.” In Making Music in the Primary School : Whole Class Instrumental and Vocal Teaching, edited by Nick. Beach, Julie Evans, and Gary. Spruce, 120–28. Routledge.

Academic Conference Presentations

Harris, Robin, Tim Palmer, and Ian Whiteside. 2017. “Rehabilitation Reimagined: Creating Music Through Collaboration.” In ICPA: Innovation in Rehabilitation: Building Better Futures. London.

Palmer, Tim. 2011. “Assessing Leadership Skills in the Conservatoire.” In SEMPRE Developing the Musician. University of Reading.

———. 2013. “Teaching and Assessing Leadership Skills in the Conservatoire.” In Higher Education Academy: Embedding Employability into the Music HE Curriculum. Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance.

———. 2017. “Provocation: Everything That I Do, I Stole.” In “Where Do We Go From Here?” Discussing the Training and Development of Artists Working in Participatory Settings. ArtWorks Alliance; Barbican Centre, London.

Palmer, Tim, and Philippa Bunting. 2015. “Artist – Teacher Identities: An Overview of Issues in Conservatoire Partnership Secondary Music PGCE Programmes.” In The Reflective Conservatoire, GSMD

Palmer, Tim, and Robin Harris. 2018. “Citizens in Prison: Findings from a Student-Prisoner Composition Project.” In The Reflective Conservatoire,GSMD

Palmer, Tim, and Abigail Longden. 2013. “Deconstructing and Re-Imagining Repertoire in Music Teacher Training.” In HEA Creative Teaching for Creative Learning in Higher Music Education. York University.

Palmer, Tim, and Jennifer Raven. 2009. “Rock Music Rock Art: Learning from a Cross-Cultural Project in a Conservatoire Setting.” In Palatine: Collaborative Processes in Music Making: Pedagogy and Practice. University of Surrey.

External Appointments

Associate Lecturer, University of Kent (2013-14)

Guest Lecturer: UCL Institute of Education (2016-)

External Examiner: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (2019-)

External Programme Reviewer: RCS, RAM, BIMM, Colchester Institute.

Awards

Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Dr Robert Wells

Professorial Staff - Academic Studies

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Janet Munro

Professorial Staff - Academic Studies

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Janet Munro

Janet Munro studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RCS) and the Royal Academy of Music supported by a Scottish Arts Council scholarship. For many years she worked as a professional singer with several different companies including Kent Opera and the New D’Oyly Carte Opera Company as well as giving premieres at the Bush Theatre and Edinburgh Fringe. She also performed extensively in this country and abroad as a recitalist before returning to study at Middlesex University and the Institute of Education.

Janet has a special interest in supporting aspiring professional singers and has given presentations on vocal health in collaboration with Dr Patricia Holmes at the Reflective Conservatoire Conference and the International Symposium on Performance Science in Reykjavík. She also gave a presentation on Repertoire through Voice Change at the Pan European Voice Conference in Copenhagen. She is involved mentoring singing teachers, first working with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music on their professional development programme and more recently collaborating on the development of the Essentials online course for the Association of Teachers of Singing. She is the vocal lead for the Certificate of Teaching for the European String Teachers Association.

Biography

Qualifications/ Educational Background

MA in Music Education
BA in Music Education with Qualified Teacher Status
DRSAM (Singing Teacher)
FHEA
FISM

Research Interests

Pedagogy
Vocal Health

Creative Outputs

Raising awareness of the benefits of effective voice screening: a study of vocal health among undergraduate singing students
Janet Munro, Patricia Holmes, Terry Clark, Emma Redding

Reflective Conservatoire (2012) GSMD

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Dr Dave Camlin

Professorial Staff - Academic Studies

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Dr David Baker

Professorial Staff - Academic Studies (Guest Lecturer)

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Dr David Baker

David Baker is a trumpeter and Associate of the Royal College of Music, London. He taught brass instruments in primary and secondary schools for a Local Education Authority music service for over 10 years. In 1999, Peters Edition published Fast Track Trumpet, two volumes of his educational music for trumpet.

Biography

David was Course Tutor for the MA in Instrumental Teaching at the University of Reading, where he supervised the practitioner research of instrumental and singing teachers and also MA dissertations on various areas of music pedagogy. He has also been Lucy Green’s Research Officer for the Ear Playing Project at the University College London Institute of Education; this was an Esmée Fairbairn Foundation venture that grew from Musical Futures. At UCL, David was Honorary Senior Research Associate and Principal Investigator for an Arts and Humanities Research Council project entitled ‘Visually-impaired musicians’ lives’, again working with Lucy. This has led to pedagogical training for students from the Royal Academy of Music in partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People, and also opportunities to lecture in the UK, USA, Australia and Norway. David is currently programme leader of the MA in Music Education at the UCL Institute of Education.

David’s research interests are: musicians’ life histories, visual impairment and music-making, music service provision, conceptions of musical ability in the primary school, pedagogical training in the conservatoire, and playing by ear. He has published articles in the British Journal of Music Education, the International Journal of Music Education and Research Studies in Music Education. He has also contributed chapters to the Ashgate book, Developing the Musician, the new Oxford Handbook of Community Music and also coauthored a book with Lucy Green on visually-impaired musicians, Insights in Sound: Visually Impaired Musicians’ Lives and Learning.